Rockets run out of steam, lose to Nuggets

13-point lead in fourth quarter turns into OT loss

Published 6:30 am, Sunday, January 21, 2007

For a few happy weeks, the Rockets' formula seemed firmly entrenched. Defend. Rebound. Keep it close. And find a way to win it late.

That all worked through nine wins in the first 11 games without Yao Ming. Then the defense went, then the rebounding. Then finally, caught in a pickup game against the Denver Nuggets on Saturday night, the Rockets found a way to lose it late.

The Nuggets, who got a game-high 36 points from Allen Iverson, surged for a 121-113 overtime win at Toyota Center. It was the Rockets' third consecutive loss and the most points they had given up this season.

"We got exactly what we deserved," Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy said. "They got what they deserved because they worked. And we got what we deserved because we didn't."

The Rockets traded baskets through most of the night, led by 13 with 10:28 left in regulation and by eight with 2:50 left. But they never had done much to get in the Nuggets' way. So when the Rockets' offense betrayed them, the defense was exposed, unable to keep the Rockets in the game.

"Did you say defense?" Rockets guard Tracy McGrady said. "What is that? What is defense? We don't know. Tonight, we don't know what defense is. We didn't play any. There was no defense. We let them do whatever they wanted to do, drive, pass when they wanted to pass. We didn't play any."

Still, the Rockets had done enough on the offensive end to give themselves a chance to win.

When McGrady hit a 3 with 2:50 left, the Rockets led 108-100. But Rafer Alston fouled Iverson on a 3-pointer, Iverson hit three free throws, and the floodgates were open. The Rockets made just two of their last 15 shots as the Nuggets scored nine more points than any team has against the Rockets this season, including 13 in overtime.

Until then, the Rockets had made 41 of 81 shots, half their 24 shots from 3-point range and scored 108 points.

Usually, the Rockets expect that to be enough. But the Nuggets rolled up as many or more points, field goals and second-chance points as any Rockets opponent this season.

Iverson made just 12 of 30 shots but had 10 assists, and his 3-pointer tied the game at 108. Moreover, in overtime, he banked a 3-pointer as the shot clock was about to expire to give the Nuggets the lead for good.

Marcus Camby had 22 rebounds after getting 24 against the Rockets eight days earlier. And J.R. Smith came off the bench to provide 24 points and start the Nuggets' fourth-quarter surge.

That did not all happen in the last two minutes of regulation and overtime.

"The lack of work started in the first half," Van Gundy said. "After the first four or five minutes, our defense was very, very disappointing. You can tell by 3-point defense because you have to do multiple things. You have to stay in front of them all. If you have to help, you have to recover. If we're recovering, we're fouling jump shooters. We're not closing out. We're getting beat off the dribble a second time. There's not second effort, third effort.

"Just to play at a level that gives you a chance to win in this league, you have to be all-out. And we're not.

"I haven't liked the feel really since that Sacramento game (the Rockets' last win). I haven't liked the way we've played. We're trying to take shortcuts. We're not willing to hit and be hit. This league turns around real quick if you're not willing to work."

Suddenly, the Rockets' last win, culminating a stretch in which they took over the fourth-best record in the Western Conference seemed longer ago than a week earlier in Sacramento.

"That stretch when we won like nine out of 10 ballgames, that's what we've got to get back to," McGrady said. "The last three games, even the game in Sacramento, we didn't play defense. It's just we had a spectacular fourth quarter and overtime on offense. If we think we're going to win ballgames playing the way we're playing, it's not going to happen.

"I thought they took it away, and the last four games defensively, we were not willing to do what it takes to win. Defense and rebounding has been really disappointing."